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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 1978)
opinion_ ours _ Strike issue hinges on GTF participation More than 400 University emp loyees are about to disenfranchise themselves in a matter that may criti cally affect their income and working conditions. They shouldn’t let this happen. These employees are the graduate teaching fellows (GTFs) who have not yet joined the Graduate Teaching Fel lows Federation (GTFF), the GTF union which has scheduled a strike vote for 7:30 p.m. Thursday to deter mine its position in contract negotia tions with the University. Only union members will be eligible to vote. Strike supporters need to mus ter a “yes” vote from two-thirds of all union members to authorize a strike. A favorable membership vote would allow the GTFF executive board the right to call a strike on the recommen dation of its negotiating team. Obvi ously, this would represent a potent weapon in the union's negotiating struggle. A “no” vote would be tantamount to accepting the latest University con tract offer. Since this is the first con tract for the GTFF, it has the special significance of setting the tone for the negotiation of future contracts. About 320 GTFs-out of approxi mately 750 represented legally and solely by the union, whether members or non-members—have entered the GTFF ranks, more than 100 of them since the beginning of school. But this growing strength does not obscure the fact that the majority of a constituency of mutual interest ap pears ready to relinquish control of a significant decision to the minority. The Emerald has chosen not to take a position on the strike vote, believing the interests of GTFs, collectively and individually, remain best known by the teaching fellows themselves. We will support the election's outcome as a fundamentally democratic expression of the union. Regardless of the electoral deci sion, however, the GTFF deserves the respect-and active membership-of all GTFs for its enduring advocacy for an organization with a changing membership. Formed three years ago by a three two margin in a certification election in which 85 percent of eligible GTFs par ticipated, the GTFF persevered through two years of legal wrangles with the University and another year of contract negotiations. GTFs cannot duck the union and strike issues. Here's why: • If, as a non-union GTF, you feel the r University’s contract offer does not meet your needs, the most effective means of obtaining additional conces sions lies in joining your fellow GTFs in a strike. The greater the participation, the more effective a strike action. And GTFF membership is inexpensive: $4.80 per month with no initiation fee. • If, as a non-union GTF, you op pose the idea of a strike, feel satisfied with the concessions wrung from the administration so far and want to see an early contract settlement, the most appropriate avenue to realizing your aspirations is via participation in the union election. If a strike occurs, whether successful or unsuccessful!, it will delay the receipt of pay and work ing benefits now available, but await ing a contract agreement. • If, as a non-union GTF, you oppose the idea of a union representing you at the University, you should file with the National Labor Relations Board and circulate a decertification petition, which could lead to an election reject ing the GTFF as the GTFs’ representa tive. Now that the GTFF acts as agent for the GTFs, the University may not legally negotiate separately with indi vidual GTFs or another GTF organiza tion, or even unilaterally extend new benefits to GTFs, if it so desired. The Emerald supports either of the first two views; both perspectives as sume a community of interest among GTFs and the need for collective ac tion. GTFs should not be seduced by the administration’s suggestion that GTFs’ interests are primarily academic or professional. Their relationship with the University remains a confrontation between labor and management in which GTFs’ interests will best be served by unity. It seems doubtful that any GTF, re gardless of his or her view of unions or a strike, will reject the improved be nefits brought about by the negotia tions. But to enjoy the fruits of others’ labor without participating in that labor must be judged as lazy, hypocritical or both. Persons wishing to join the GTFF and participate in Thursday’s crucial election may do so at the union office, just off-campus at 868 E. 13th. It’s open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The union also plans to set up a registration desk in the EMU from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday. GTFs may vote in the election if they have signed up with the GTFF by 5 p.m. Thursday. The Emerald urges all graduate teaching fellows to join and vote. yours Raid reprisal unfair’ On the night of October 8th, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the girls of Thornton Dormitory in the Bean East Com pie were set-up. Like various other dorms, we had planned to raid our co-dorm, Wiloox, with shaving cream and flour. Upon our arrival we found our very own resident assistant on the second floor. Little did we know that the student manager and the Wilcox R.A. were lurking nearby. Since no attempt was made to stop us, we proceeded to go about our business. All of a sudden, the Wilcox R.A. came flying down the hall screaming, “Stop It!’’ ‘‘In your lounge, NOW!” and scaring the hell out of half the girls. Once in the lounge, we had a visit from our friendly Student Manager who informed us that raids were “Number one on my Shit List!”. We were rather shocked because no one had men tioned this before. We had previously been raided by Watson and there was no discouragement or retaliation by anyone. After the raid on Wilcox, we were thus informed that raids are not condoned and that we were being charged a minimum of $12 for damages. Our resident assistants had known all along of our intentions, and decided to use us as “an example." They chose not to prevent the "illegal action,” but to make complete asses out of us all. which they suceeded in doing very well indeed. To put it bluntly, the girls of Thornton were framed. So, since your own Administration most likely won’t warn you before-hand and your consequences could be much worse, take heed of our warning! Liz Payne, freshman, anthropology Election items clarified While the Emerald provides an often-appreciated viewpoint on local politics, certain errors and omissions in your recent article, Election ’78' should be corrected to avoid confusing voters. Your overview of State Senate contests listed the District 22 seat as a contest between Clint Boehringerand Larry Campbell, two men who are in fact running for the District 43 seat in the state House. The District 22 Senate contest is in fact between present Democratic Senator Ted Kulongoski and Republican James Pack. You did not list the District 44 House contest, perhaps because it is for the most part out of your readership area. The Lane County Assessor’s race does indeed pit Ken Bylund against Bill Bain, but the fact that Bylund is a Democrat and Bain is a Republican is really not a useful piece of information— the seat is nonpartisan, as are the County Commission seats, for which you gave no party affiliations. Also, Bill Bain is a realtor only in a negligently loose use of the term; he is in fact a real estate appraiser, which is not the same at all. Keep up the good work, but a little more carefully, please. Alan Contreras, Resolutions Committee Chair, Lane County Young Democrats Emerald ad disliked Next time you take an ad for scab teachers (9-27-78 ODE) how about running an article telling the public that you are not supporting the recruitment of strikebreakers, and just attempting to maximize profits! Irv Fletcher Executive Secretary, Lane County Labor Council More on Cerro Gordo Your Oct. 10 article on the Cerro Gordo community was interesting and from my one-weekend acquaintance with the group, accurate. The group has published a great deal and the UO library has virtually all of it, newsletters and booklets, for those who wish to read more, and save a fair-sized bit of money in book costs at the same time. Walter Slocum, UO Library staff
